From a pile of stuff: this week on Fresh Powder

The lede

I went to the Newseum for the first time last month. The status update alone prompted many messages of jealousy from my journalism pals, which suggests the mythic aura it holds to those in, or who have studied, media who have never been. I enjoyed it and was very happy to have seen it, but, at the same time, I was chaotically overwhelmed by it. (I was, however, immensely disappointed in the gift shop. I bought the only T-shirt with the name Newseum on it and they had absolutely nothing to buy that had anything to do with the First Amendment.) I commented then that I could’ve spend a full eight hours in the museum. There was so much to see and read, and as a first-time visitor — long-time blind admirer — you don’t think about why you’re overwhelmed or if its a negative that you could spend a full day there. Those with a better perspective, and perhaps a few more visits to their name, now do, as the museum prepares to close its doors Dec. 31. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik: “Among the Newseum’s most prominent artifacts are a piece of the Berlin Wall and the antenna mast that stood atop the World Trade Center’s north tower until 9/11. These are items of historical interest, certainly, but what’s the rationale for placing them inside a news museum, other than that they represent events that were, well, covered in the news?” (Come to think of it, spending so much time off the bat in the FBI exhibit definitely affected how much time we had to walk through the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs exhibit at the end.): Los Angeles Times

Seconded

“Many will recall reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, both of which have girl narrators, but these books aren’t about girl culture, whereas several books that center on boys and boy culture have been assigned and canonized, from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer to The Catcher in the Rye. The absence of Little Women in classrooms could suggest that a story about female ambition and adventure should be treated as dangerous.” Little Women Is A Big, Important American Masterpiece. Let’s Treat It Like One. (Elle)

. . . NYT: Moments in Reading That Salvaged an Often Sour Year

TGIF

Last spring, we checked into the succession plan for Lori Loughlin as the Hallmark channel’s go-to star for Christmas movies. Here’s an update, from the New York Post, as the spotlight shifts to Gretchen Wieners, from “Mean Girls,” and D.J. Tanner from “Full House.” (Not their real names.)

#MillennialProblems

HuffPost: A Guide To The Memes That Defined A Decade (And Where They Are Now)

Sports!

The New York Times caught a glimpse into a week in the life of ESPN’s Mina Kimes. “I like taking calls while I’m walking Lenny, but it’s always awkward, trying to juggle a phone while picking up after your dog.”

. . . More than $150,000 in donations have been pledged to a local food pantry in the Ohio hometown of this year’s Heisman Trophy winner since his speech Saturday night. (ESPN)

Thinking ahead

Vox Media is preparing to lay off hundreds of contracted employees in response to California’s Assembly Bill 5, which requires employers to reclassify their contract workers as full-time employees and offer them benefits.

This also happened last week: A new way to try wrapping Christmas presents. (Happy wrapping and happy holidays from us at SNO!)